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Alabama avoids deep Medicaid cuts. What’s next?
Alabama Medicaid is safe – for now. State lawmakers wrapped up their special session last week with a sigh of relief after approving a one-time solution to stop deep Medicaid cuts. The Legislature agreed to use BP oil spill settlement money to address Medicaid’s $85 million shortfall for 2017 and to give the program another [...]
Blog
Lottery bill dead, BP settlement bill still alive in Alabama Legislature
A state lottery bill died, returned to life and then died again in the Alabama Legislature this week. The House voted 64-35 Thursday night for an amended version of SB 3, sponsored by Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, that included revenue earmarks for Medicaid, education, and rural and community fire departments. That move came after the House [...]
Blog
Lottery bill squeaks through Alabama Senate; BP settlement bill also advances
(The latest: A state lottery bill died, returned to life and then died again in the Alabama Legislature this week. The House voted 64-35 Thursday night for an amended version of SB 3that included revenue earmarks for Medicaid, education, and rural and community fire departments. That move came after the House reconsidered its initial 61-37 vote on [...]
Blog
Lottery, BP settlement bills clear Alabama legislative committees as special session on Medicaid funding continues
(Update: The Alabama House voted 91-10 Wednesday to pass the BP settlement bill (HB 36). A Senate committee approved the bill Friday, positioning it for a Senate vote Tuesday. SB 11 lost a procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday, greatly reducing its chances of passage. Senators are expected to debate SB 3 on Friday.) Two [...]
Fact Sheet
What Alabamians should know about a state lottery
On the question of a state lottery, Arise’s member organizations hold widely varying positions, some of them based on strong moral or religious beliefs. Because our bylaws prevent us from taking positions that deeply divide our membership or offend members’ deeply held beliefs, Arise Citizens' Policy Project and Alabama Arise are neutral on the lottery. However, [...]
Fact Sheet
A long-term budget fix includes Medicaid expansion
As Alabama lawmakers grapple to prevent devastating Medicaid cuts, the time is right to address a related threat to our state: the health coverage gap. Nearly 200,000 Alabama workers we depend on every day – in agriculture, food service, retail, home health and other fields – have no access to regular health care. They have no [...]
Annual Report
Annual Report 2016
We'll keep moving forward. "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." With those words, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that change does not always happen overnight, and that progress does not always move in a straight line. But history has shown, time and again, that when advocates with [...]
Blog
Medicaid cuts loom, payday reform falls just short as Alabama Legislature ends 2016 regular session
The Alabama Legislature’s 2016 regular session, which ended Wednesday, was more notable in many ways for what didn’t happen than for what did. Lawmakers did not agree on a revenue solution to prevent devastating Medicaid cuts that would reduce health care access for hundreds of thousands of children, seniors, and people with disabilities in Alabama. Despite enormous [...]
Blog
Quick overviews of Arise’s 2016 issue priorities
Your time is important, and your voice for a better Alabama is essential. That's why we've prepared these quick overviews to keep you up-to-date on what's happening at the Alabama Legislature on Arise's 2016 issue priorities. We'll update this post as needed. "Ban the box" legislation: 'Ban the box' law would help rebuild lives in Alabama -- The [...]
Blog
Time running short for payday reform as Alabama House committee holds hearing but doesn’t vote
The fate of payday lending reform in Alabama this year could hinge on whether the House Financial Services Committee chooses to meet again before next week, and whether its members approve SB 91, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur. The committee chose not to vote on the bill after hearing nearly two hours of testimony [...]